The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), through its Wellness Service, continues to provide HIV/AIDS and Primary Health Care services to truck drivers and mobile populations along its transport corridors. This is to ensure that more HIV-positive cases are identified and referred to care, treatment and support programmes.

For the second quarter of this year (April – June 2015), the Wellness Service has reached 603 truck drivers, 746 sex workers and 1290 members of the general public with testing and Wellness screening services. This is compared to the 552 truck drivers, 456 sex workers and 593 members of the general public reached during the first quarter (January – March 2015).

The number of HIV positive cases identified in the second quarter was 156, compared to the 107 cases from first quarter. WBCG views it second quarterly outcome results positively because the majority of clients who accessed its services are new and have now been referred to access treatment services immediately regardless of their CD4 measurements.

It has also increased its service points throughout the country by ensuring that its mobile testing facilities visit various ‘hotspots’ where key and mobile populations find themselves.

From the 156 HIV positive cases identified in the second quarter, 5.8% were truck drivers, 8.4% were sex workers and 4.4% were members from the general population. From the first quarter’s 107 cases identified, 4.7% were truck drivers, 9.6 were sex workers and 6.2% were members from the general public.

Together with its development partners such as the Society for Family Health ISFH), USAID, GIZ and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, it objective remains to identify as many HIV positive cases amongst the key and mobile populations and to eventually reduce HIV infection rates amongst these groups in Namibia.

It Public Private Partnership (PPP) model is strategic in terms of how it pools resources together in order to provide health services to these special groups.

The combination of Mobile and Roadside Wellness Clinics is a unique approach in the Namibian context and the WBCG prides itself on this approach as it is the first of its kind in the country.

It’s close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services assists it through the provision of medical consumables and HIV test kits at no cost and it in turn assist the MoHSS by reducing public health burdens by providing a service to a group of people who will otherwise not be able to access health services at the Government hospitals due to the nature of their work.